ARLINGTON, Texas -- From section C134 at AT&T Stadium, seated about 20 rows up and looking straight toward a baseline basket, the godfather of Connecticut basketball was beaming with pride as the program he raised in its infant stages occupied center stage again.

Sure, many think of Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun as the UConn hoops patriarch, considering he won three national titles (1999, 2004, ’11) for the Huskies. But in the 1970s, it was coach Dee Rowe that kept UConn relevant enough for the school to warrant an invitation into the Big East Conference in 1979, two years after he retired from coaching.

As the Huskies were cutting down the nets after winning their fourth NCAA championship Monday night with a 60-54 conquest of Kentucky, nobody was filled with more admiration than Rowe, who still has an office at UConn.

“I’m so grateful and excited by what’s happened at UConn,” said Rowe. “Beating Kentucky for the national championship? Wow! We used to think it was a great night for UConn if we played somebody in Madison Square Garden.”

Rowe, who recruited the first African-American players to UConn, laid the groundwork a decade before Calhoun arrived for the Huskies’ future dominance. Watching UConn win four national titles in 16 years, and Ollie doing it in his second season, has made Rowe’s golden years special.

“Basketball is the front porch of the university now,” said Rowe, a cancer survivor. “As a result, it’s changed our lives. In maybe some small way, I hope I set the table.

"What these coaches and young kids have done is absolutely incredible. For [UConn coach] Kevin Ollie to follow a legend like Jim Calhoun and do what he's done, it's such a treasure.”

Rowe coached the Huskies for eight seasons (1969-77), compiling a 120-88 record and taking them to one NCAA Sweet 16 and two National Invitation tournaments. Calhoun, who took over the program from Dom Perno in 1986, and Ollie both acknowledge Rowe’s impact before UConn basketball exploded on the national scene a quarter century ago.

“[Rowe] has been a mentor for me since I was a freshman at UConn [in 1990-91], I absolutely love the man,” Ollie said.

There was a record crowd of 79,238 in AT&T Stadium, and after the confetti had fallen and the Huskies were celebrating, one 85-year-old man smiled as he flashed his index finger.

Dee Rowe, the godfather of UConn hoops, was once again living heaven on earth. The program he made relevant four decades ago reigned atop the college basketball world.